I Will Follow You Into the Dark
by Sarah.Rachel
Summary: The old crew is back at the Jeffersonian after the year-long hiatus, and they take on a case that hits too close to home for Booth and Brennan. Damsel in distress, B/B, A/J, after season 5 finale, T for now. Come on, give it a try.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer **Definitely don't own anything but the plot.

**A/N **So, not a whole lot happens in this chapter (at all, really), but it's mostly setting it up for them to get back to work at the Jeffersonian after their split in the finale. Don't worry, changes will definitely be addressed more in-depth in future chapters, but this is to just get it all started.

"Hi."

"Hi." Booth nervously ran his hands over his hair.

"You're hair's shorter."

He chuckled. "Yeah, shaving it was kind of hard," Booth shrugged. "I missed you."

"Me too." Brennan looked down at her clasped hands.

"Bones?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"That this is awkward."

"We haven't seen each other in an entire year, Booth. Sweets would say that it is perfectly understandable for our reunion to be a little uncomfortable."

"I thought you hated psychology."

"I do. But sometimes it has its place."

Booth smiled; he was happy that Bones was still the same Bones. It had been a year since the both of them had left DC, but neither of them had forgotten their arranged meeting place. The two held their coffees and enjoyed the familiarity of each other's presence.

"Why are you smiling?"

"No particular reason, Bones. It's just good to see you finally."

"I am glad to see you too, Booth. As amazing as the Maluku Islands were, it's nice to be home. We did make some amazing breakthroughs, though. There were a few high-profile articles in _American Anthropologist_ about our findings in relation to—"

"Bones," Booth interrupted, "I am very proud of you, and I'm sure you were absolutely amazing at the Mapoo Islands—"

"Maluku."

"—but you know I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Right." Brennan glanced around her. "So, uh, how was Afghanistan?"

"A war zone. They're basically all the same. It felt good being back there for the first little while, but boy was I ready to come home."

"When do you return to the FBI?"

"I'm not sure yet. I have to stop by there after our meeting and see what's happening. What about you at the Jeffersonian?"

"Same. I need to talk to Cam and find out when my replacements are planning on leaving."

"It will be nice to work together again. You and me, partners."

Brennan opened her mouth to reply, but the familiar sound of Booth's ringing cell phone interrupted her. "One second, Bones." He opened his phone, "Booth."

Brennan crossed her arms and tapped her foot on the ground. She wondered who would be calling him already, but could gain nothing from his side of the conversation. She assumed it must be Parker and decided to use this opportunity check her partner over properly for the first time since they had reunited less than a half hour earlier.

Brennan wasn't sure that it would be possible for Booth to gain more muscle, but the jeans and black long sleeved t-shirt he wore suggested otherwise. The "Cocky" belt was in its usual place of honour making Brennan smile. He looked different with the buzz-cut, but she knew he'd be back to himself in no time. Otherwise he was the same as she remembered him, and there was no sign of any injury from his return to the battlefield. She was glad.

Booth closed his phone and smiled, "Looks like we're already back-in-action Bones. Time to meet our replacements at the Jeffersonian and then get to work."

Brennan smiled and nodded. She was glad she had decided to return. It felt good to be back.

**A/N **I hope you enjoyed it! Like it? Love it? Hate it? Have a suggestion for something I should work on? Let me know! Please review!


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: **Nothing but the plot.

**A/N** Wow. It's been a long time. I can do nothing but apologise and hope you enjoy this chapter nonetheless.

"The victim appears to be a male between the ages of eighteen and twenty-five. Single gunshot wound to the front of the skull with an exit in the rear. Make sure your guys search for the bullet. The remains appear to be only seven to ten days old, but Cam can more specific when we get the flesh back to her. Hey!" Brennan yelled at the FBI agent gathering the maggots from the body, "You need to be careful with those!"

"Bones—" Booth's voice rose at the end of her name warningly.

"Booth! He is throwing them around as if they are irrelevant to the case. Hodgins' replacement will need those as intact as possible. That man needs to learn to be more careful."

"Is she—is she always like that?"

Booth turned to one of the anthropologists that had been assigned to the Jeffersonian in Brennan's absence. It had, after all, taken four—three with complete doctorates—to replace the best anthropologist in the world. This girl was petite in all aspects of the word and had short, auburn hair. Glasses framed her emerald eyes, and she was young and fidgety. Booth was unsure whether this was natural for her, or simply because she was in the presence of the great Dr. Temperance Brennan. "Pretty much."

"She's very particular about her crime scenes, isn't she?"

"That's what makes her the best Dr..."

"Roth. Molly Roth."

"Right."

Brennan and Booth hadn't had enough time to be properly introduced to all of the replacements before rushing out to the crime scene. Not even home for a day, and they were already hunting down a murderer.

"So how long are you guys going to be sticking around here? Now that we're back, I mean."

"Well, I think Dr. Kyle and Mrs. Norcall are leaving in a few days, Dr. Lemberger is leaving within the month, and I am applying to stay on at the Jeffersonian. I really like it here. Dr. Saroyan said she might be able to swing something, so I'm just waiting to see. I promise I'll stay out of Dr. Brennan's way; I just hope to have the chance to work for or with her. I'm the best of the four of us here, if I do say so myself." Dr. Roth realized she was forgetting to breath between sentences, began to blush profusely, and refused to continue eye contact with Booth.

Booth chuckled, "You're going to have get on Bones' good side first."

She glanced up quickly, "She doesn't like me?"

Booth could see the terror in the younger doctor's eyes. "No, no. She doesn't not like you, she just takes time to warm up to people. She needs to warm up to you."

"Booth!" Brennan pointed to the gray clouds hanging above their heads, "You might want to speed up the collection of this evidence."

Booth nodded. "Hurry up, boys, we need to get everything back to the Jeffersonian before it beings to pour."

* * *

"From the age of the Phaenicia sericata found on the body, I would say this man was killed between four and ten in the evening last Friday."

"I concur with Dr. Carlet. The state of decay of the flesh indicates that the murder was nine days ago, but the body has only been buried for approximately seven." Cam approached the duo examining the corpse.

Brennan immediately turned to the replacement. "Where was he held before being buried?"

Dr. Carlet rolled his eyes. "Oh, okay. Let me get right on that."

"You can't do it?"

He looked affronted. "Of course I can!"

"Well then?"

"Well, I uh—"

Cam watched the exchange with a small grin. Dr. Temperance Brennan was definitely back. "Give him some time, Dr. Brennan."

Brennan narrowed her eyes at Hodgins' replacement and slightly leaned her head towards the doorway.

"I, uh, I better get back my work."

Dr. Carlet turned quickly on his heel and sped for the sanctuary of bugs and dirt.

Cam turned to Brennan with the same amused smile on her face. "You can't scare all of the poor replacements, Dr. Brennan. They've done a well enough job without the crew here."

"Perhaps they should learn to do their job better, Dr. Saroyan."

"Hodgins will be back soon enough. Have patience for a few more days. How are _you_ enjoying being back at the Jeffersonian?"

"Well, I've only just returned, Cam. I wasn't expecting to be back so soon, but I guess murder doesn't wait, does it? I'm sure things will go smoother with Booth and I back now instead of the temporaries." Brennan said the last word with what could only be called dissatisfaction.

The "temporaries" were obviously not living up to Brennan's expectations. Cam, having fully anticipated this reaction when she finally returned, couldn't help but smile. "Have you even talked to any of them, Dr. Brennan?"

"Not extensively. Why?"

Cam shook her head, but before she could explain to Brennan the concept of not judging a book by its cover, Booth burst into the lab.

"Bones! I need to talk to you! And you too, Camille."

Cam shrugged. "Okay?"

Booth glanced nervously at the dead body. "Can we, uh, go somewhere else?"

"Oh come on, Booth. You see dead bodies all the time; we talk in _here _all the time. Get over it."

Booth was a little taken aback by Bones' tone. "Excuse me? It's been a while since I've had to sit in a stuffy room with a long-dead corpse in between us."

Bones crossed her arms. "The body has not been dead that long, and Cam and I are in the middle of something, so we can talk here or not at all."

"Whatever. Anyway, I came here to tell you guys that," Booth, deciding his feelings were still hurt by Bones, turned to Cam, "I'm not on this case."

Bones' head snapped up from the bone she had been examining, "What are you talking about? The FBI called you!"

"Well, apparently my replacement was unavailable when they called me, but they have now decided that I'm not ready to jump into work so quickly. I'll get the next one, but I'm not even technically supposed to be here right now."

"I'm back to work! I'm on the case!"

Cam spoke up, "Well, this my lab, not the FBI's, and I say that you are welcome to be around here. And, if by some crazy random happenstance you happen to help us solve this case because you're the best there is, then so be it. The FBI doesn't even need to know."

"Trust me, they will know."

The trio spun around to see who had barged through the open doorway. "Special Agent Krave. What are you doing here?"

"I've been here all year, Dr. Saroyan, remember?"

**A/N** So? Like it? Love it? Despise it? Please let me know! Constructive criticism, as always, is appreciated. Much love!


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